Linwood Avenue - Table of Contents

Linwood Avenue History
Buffalo, New York

Linwood Avenue, which runs from North Street on the south to Delavan Avenue on the north, was originally named Miller Street after the Jacob S. Miller family who created the city's first livery service. At the time Linwood was plotted in the early 1830's, North Street was the northern boundary of Buffalo. Thus, then-Miller Street became a more bucolic setting for wealthy businessmen and industrialists to escape the congestion and tumult of the fast growing industrial and commercial city. Miller's livery service provided the transportation needed for this northward expansion. Miller Street was renamed Linwood Avenue perhaps a early as 1852 according to later records of the Common Council Proceedings. It soon developed into a fashionable residential address for many prominent Buffalo residents. Frank B. Baird, Edward H. Butler, Jesse Ketchum and Samuel P. Capen are just a few of the familiar names that were former Linwood Avenue residents. Beginning in the 1860's and continuing into the early 20th century, as new homes sprang up along the avenue, some by well-known architects, elm-tree-lined Linwood Avenue became a Promenade, a place where people strolled to see and be seen. Because the avenue, once farmland in the Cold Spring district in the town of Black Rock -- including the farm of Buffalo pioneer William Hodge -- developed over the decades, what survives is a treasure trove of grand homes in a variety of architectural styles. The oldest standing property, though added to and changed over the years, dates to the 1820's. It is located at 471 Linwood. In 1979, Linwood Avenue was declared a Buffalo historic preservation district from North Street to the north side of West Ferry Street. -- Richard Scibetta